Health could prove terminal for the states

  • Mike Steketee

08 March 2010With the commonwealth holding the purse strings, co-operative federalism is wearing thin, writes Mike Steketee in the Australian

KEVIN Rudd did more than announce big bang health reform this week: he kicked off what he called "one of the most significant reforms to the federation in its history".

The Prime Minister tends to overdo the superlatives but he has a point. You could put it another way: he has knocked one more nail into the states' coffin.

In 1995, Queensland premier Wayne Goss said: "What we will witness within a generation is the de facto, if not de jure, abolition of the states." His prediction looks to be on track...

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